The Most Important Discoveries in Chemistry and the Scientists that Made them

The Most Important Discoveries in Chemistry â€" and the Scientists that Made them Do you know who Discovered the Most Significant Things in Chemistry? ChaptersDiscoveries in Medicinal ChemistryChemical Inventions in Farming and FoodChemical Technologies that Changed Our LivesRadiation - A Great Scientific DiscoveryDiscoveries in chemistry have changed the way we live. The subject’s contribution to biology, medicine, engineering, and agriculture â€" amongst many other disciplines â€" has provided us with new technologies that have transformed the way we eat, communicate, and fight disease and injury. The achievements of some famous chemists cannot be overstated, as the modern world would not be recognisable without them.We have a lot to thank our scientists for. Here are a few reasons why.Fear a world without phones? You have the discoveries of chemistry to thank.Radiation - A Great Scientific DiscoveryMarie Curie is the scientist most famously associated with the discovery of radioactivity. Yet, she was part of a team of chemists and physicists who were working on x-rays, radiation, and radioactive chemicals like uranium and radi um.Radioactivity was actually discovered by Henri Becquerel, who was examining why certain materials glow in the dark. He noticed that uranium â€" something we now know to be highly radioactive â€" changed the colour of light-sensitive sheets, even when there was a paper layer between the sheet and the element. He realised that this material must have been emitting something that he could not see with his eyes.Curie’s particular contribution was to discover polonium and radium, and to give the process the name ‘radioactivity’, something that was caused by the breakdown of particular atoms. Her legacy was to put to use Becquerel’s discovery to the purpose of fighting cancer. As a chemist and physicist, she became the first â€" and she still is the only â€" person to win the Nobel Prize in two sciences.For those who want to learn more about chemistry, check out our pieces on essential chemistry equipment or basic chemistry concepts. Or, check out our guide to all things chemis try!

The Importance of Writing Skills

The Importance of Writing Skills Once the sentence-diagramming and short-essay days of grade school and high school are behind you, it can be easy to think you have all the writing foundation you need and no further perfecting is necessary especially if you choose a major in college that doesn't require extensive writing. Once you reach college, however, you may be surprised at how many non-English programs do require a great deal of writing (communications, history, and political science, to name a few). This writing may come in the form of lengthy essays, research papers, exams, projects, and proposals. Below, you will discover the key reasons writing skills are vital and just how you can enhance those skills: Proper writing skills can carry you through a variety of tasks Believe it or not, no matter what major you choose, you will at some point be required to write something. Every major will have testing in its courses some of which will be short answer or essay exams, which require well-rounded responses. This is where skills you learned in middle school come into play; the importance of structuring your essays, having a beginning, middle, and end, and utilizing proper transitions are all important. These are all elements that, whether you like it or not, follow you into your college courses, and having proper writing skills can help you make a great impression on any professor or class. [RELATED: 4 Confusing Grammar Rules Cleared Up] With confidence in your writing skills, you won't have to rely on others Hypothetical situation: The dreaded group project of the semester rolls around and youre dividing up the tasks. You see the perfect opportunity to let another student in the group take on the task of writing the paper or proposal involved. However, that person doesn't turn in what they were supposed to on time and your group is docked points. In situations like these, having confidence in your own writing can come in handy. You shouldnt compose the entire project yourself, but you will have more freedom to take a leadership role in the group to ensure everything is packaged and turned in on time. Your confidence can also allow you to provide helpful feedback to your group members as you work together to achieve your goals (after all, you shouldnt be doing the entire project yourself!). Dont forget to also openly be receptive to feedback, too another group member may feel just as confident in his or her writing and be able to exchange valuable notes with you. Less revisions = more productivity As we have established, writing some form of content will be inevitable in your college career. This means that the less you work toward building confidence in your writing, the more time you will inevitably spend editing and revising your work. If you can learn from the critiques, you will eventually be able to spend less time fixing your work and more time being productive in other aspects of your life and education. This isnt to say that revising will never be necessary, because even the strongest writers go through a few proofreads! The idea is simply to minimize the need for extra rewrites. The more you refine your skills, the closer youll be to your final product with your initial writing drafts. [RELATED: Top 10 Essay Editing Tips] Writing is a lifelong skill The skill of writing doesn't end when you graduate college. Most job fields will require some type of writing, even if that is simply your resume and cover letter to apply for the job. Whatever it may be, writing skills can make you a more well-rounded job applicant. Dont forget about the ever-so-frequent art of writing emails, as well! This comes up every day in most jobs, and being able to compose well-written emails on a whim will only help you (whereas poorly-written emails could taint your reputation). Bonus Tip: Take advantage of resources! As long as youre on campus, you might as well take advantage of the many campus resources available to you (youll miss them when you graduate!). Check out the writing center on campus or meet with your professors during their office hours. Taking initiative in either of these capacities can help you figure out where you are going wrong and steer you in the right direction. Also note that many TAs may accept rough drafts of papers (if they are delivered far enough in advance) to look over and give you guidance on, which can help you get an idea for what your final draft should look like. It is easy to simply say writing is not your skill and feel sufficient leaving it at that. The ability to properly transition paragraphs and organize thoughts on paper is something that will follow you throughout your life, not only in schooling, but in the job field as well. The good news is there are always resources, such as writing tutoring, and other ways to practice this skill so you can feel more confident in your abilities. Any topics you want to know more about? Let us know! The Varsity Tutors Blog editors love hearing your feedback and opinions. Feel free to email us at blog@varsitytutors.com.

HEART Tutoring Adds Math To Name, Changes Logo

HEART Tutoring Adds “Math” To Name, Changes Logo HEART Tutoring Adds “Math” To Name, Changes Logo HEART Tutoring Adds “Math” To Name, Changes Logo April 17, 2015 Following feedback from funders, volunteers, and schools, and with a grant from Reemprise Fund, HEART Tutoring completed a branding study in 2014 and will now be Heart Math Tutoring. The goal of the branding study was to find a name and image that captures Heart’s focus on math and professionalized, measured results while maintaining the warmth of the tutor/student relationship that is core to our work. Heart’s team and key stakeholders worked with Wray Ward, a Charlotte-based marketing communications agency beginning last summer. Many thanks to all of our volunteers, schools, and supporters who spent time last summer providing input and guidance! Charlie Elberson, primary advisor for the Reemprise Fund, a donor advised fund held at Foundation For The Carolinas, explains why working with Heart Math Tutoring on this project fit the Fund’s venture philanthropy work. “The Reemprise Fund has a legacy of providing transformative grants to visionary social enterprises. Heart’s model for math intervention and volunteer management has tremendous potential to scale in Charlotte and beyond. Looking toward that horizon, the organization needed a brand identity that was a true reflection of its extraordinary premise. This new program will give them an edge, propelling Heart Math Tutoring’s marketing for various audiences in years to come.” In Heart’s new brand, the colors are updated; the shapes suggest math and geometry; and the subtle image of a butterfly evokes the feelings of growth, change, and transformation that we hope to inspire in our students and in the community. The original acronym has been dropped and a new tagline adapted: “Connecting Students Volunteers for Results that Count.” We hope you like it! Special thanks goes to Bellaworks for  refreshing  Heart’s website  and to Crystal Dempsey with  From The Hip Communications for helping us tell our story with our blog, social media, and email. Most of all, thank you to Reemprise Fund for the grant award to make all of this possible. We are excited about the way these developments will help Heart bring one-on-one math tutoring to more students in Charlotte.

Partnering with your Childs Teacher for a Successful School Year

Partnering with your Child's Teacher for a Successful School Year How can you effectively collaborate with your child's teacher? By fostering positive and productive communication throughout the year. Just as it is important to talk with your child about school, communicating with his or her teacher is crucial as well. Read on for a few pointers on how to develop a positive parent-teacher relationship and make the most out of it all year long. Go to parent-teacher conferences. Take advantage of parent-teacher conferences, which offer regular opportunities for you to talk with your child's teacher face to face. To get the most out of these meetings, jot down any issues you'd like to discuss before you go. If your child is struggling with school or homework, ask his or her teacher lots of questions, such as: Does my child seem focused during class? Does my child come prepared for class Does my child complete all homework and classroom assignments Does my child get along with his or her peers? What are my child's best subjects? What subjects does my child struggle with? Does my child participate in class? Does my child pay attention in class? Has my child had absences from school that I may not be aware of? What tests will my child take this school year? What do these tests measure? Of course, your child's teacher may have a few questions for you as well. If your child is experiencing problems at home, with friends or in other areas of his or her life, be sure to share this with your child's teacher. Together, the two of you can brainstorm ways to lessen the impact of outside factors on your child's school performance. Keep interactions positive and collaborative. Not every parent-teacher relationship will be perfect. Topics such as homework, tests and learning environment may rouse disagreement between you and your child's teacher, particularly if your child is struggling to keep up or has difficulty completing assignments. However, it's best to approach your child's teacher with a cooperative attitude, avoiding assigning blame or criticizing. First, attempt to understand the situation. Remember that your child's teacher also has your child's best interests in mind. Ask teachers what you can do to help your child at home. Whether at parent-teacher conferen ces or in a separate meeting or discussion, be sure to ask your child's teacher for suggestions on how to help your child get the most out of homework and improve his or her study habits. Your child's teacher will likely have several helpful suggestions and be more than willing to help you devise an action plan to enhance your child's learning at home. Be mindful of a teacher's schedule. Keep in mind when calling your child's teacher or requesting meetings that he or she likely interacts with many other students' parents on a regular basis as well. Ask your child's teacher what is the best way for the two of you to communicate. Some teachers may suggest using email to stay in touch when quick questions arise, saving in-person meetings for bigger issues. In the end, you and your child's teacher have the same goal: to provide your child the best education possible. Do your part to make it a great year by keeping the lines of communication open. Huntington is here to help every step of the way. If your child needs additional help, turn to us. We can address areas where your child may be struggling and tailor a program based on his or her learning needs.

Making Homework Relatable

Making Homework Relatable Growing up as a student, I struggled in many classes. Not to say that I suffered from a learning disability, however it was very hard for me to make course material I was learning feel relatable or even applicable to the real world. I was also a very visual person, and unfortunately many of the classroom settings that I grew up in did not have sufficient technology, and tended not to focus on this aspect of learning too heavily. I studied hard. However I constantly felt the need to read and reread my textbooks and notes just to memorize information. Courses that focused on listening comprehension and auditory cues were not my friends, and as a result I often found it strange how a classroom would be staged to reward and benefit those who were able to memorize information over those who tended to think outside the box. A good example of how I might describe this experience can be seen when asking for directions. If you live in an area for a long enough you start to develop a mind map of your surroundings. Landmarks just as much as major street names become important when navigating. In fact, most of the time it even makes things easier. We all inform people and give them direction based on these visual and non-visual cues, and needless to say, both are equally important. It is for this reason that finding a way to make information relatable becomes key in helping struggling students over come fear and anxiety with problem solving in school. Below is a link to a TED Talk by high school math teacher Dan Meyer. In his talk he describes the aversion kids have to facing and solving mathematical problems and how much, if not all of it, can be overcome by prompting people to approach the subject matter in a more practical way. https://youtu.be/qocAoN4jNwcHis message is simple and yet very effective in stating that we have numerous resources at our disposal to help students succeed. Obtaining knowledge can be approached in many different ways and everyone works and learns at their own pace and ability. Having good, supportive and relatable teachers always helps. And in the end, it becomes incredibly rewarding when you help students figure out an approach to problems that works best for them.

Guest Post Summertime Tools to Keep your Mind In Shape

Guest Post Summertime Tools to Keep your Mind In Shape Summertime: Tools to Keep your Mind In Shape During Holidays (Guest Post) Summertime: Tools to Keep your Mind In Shape During Holidays (Guest Post) When you have heard you have finally passed this semester’s exams, you will be more than ready for a vacation to rest your mind and take your thoughts away from the rigors of the last few months. It probably won’t be long before you find that your mind is looking for another challenge. Fortunately, there are many activities out on the web just suited to keeping your mind in shape. Here is a list of tools to keep your mind in shape. 1. Online courses at Coursera Online courses are available, at little or no cost, that cater for the student like you who is on a long vacation. Coursera, for instance, is a website that acts as a face for many colleges and universities. It lists on its website 4-week long courses that take place at holiday time. The range of specializations is vast, from almost any language to business courses, all types of computer science specializations and courses from the sciences, mathematics, the humanities and practical arts disciplines. A typical 4-week course offered in July by the University of Maryland at College Park is called “Developing Innovative Ideas for New Companies: The First Step in Entrepreneurship”. This is a great introduction to the budding entrepreneur who wants to kick start a business after graduating. The University of California in San Diego puts on a       summer course that is suited to students who believe they haven’t fully mastered learning techniques. It is called “Learning How to Learn” and its aim is to provide the potential learner with powerful mental tools that will assist in the mastering of tough subjects. 2. Online Couses at UdaCity If you have the time available a great way of keeping your mind in shape is to complete a mini online course. At UdaCity, you will find what the website calls “nanodegrees. These are quite long and can take 6 months or more but are in an exciting range of subjects and may be complementary to what you are studying at college or university. 3. Writing skills with Penzu Do you usually spend some of your leisure time writing a personal log or diary about events in your life and your current thoughts? Are you sometimes afraid that someone may get their hands on this very personal document? If you want to have a bit more fun and create an online personal log that is secret, you can sign up with Penzu for your free journal creator. It has some useful features such as the ability to search for past entries which is so much faster and neater than using the old fashioned paper journal. If you are the sort of person that would love to remember to write entries regularly but you forget, Penzu sends you gentle reminders by email. You can compile a journal for different aspects of your life such as a food log or one describing the dreams you have as well as a study log. Penzu provides templates but you can customize the whole layout yourself. 4. Online plagiarism checker made easy with Unplag Now, let’s move on to the subject of next semester’s essays. When you are collecting and compiling long essays for assessment, there is always a large amount of information accessible on the internet. It can be tempting just to copy and paste large chunks of information straight into your essay. Universities don’t allow this, for good reason, as it’s not your personal work. Most essays are checked carefully for plagiarism, and you will be penalized if your essay contains a significant amount of copied text. Fortunately, there is an online plagiarism checker called Unplag you can use at a minimum of cost that can check your essay for plagiarism. You simply load your essay into the box and click. Within a few seconds a report is returned to you highlighting all the parts that have been plagiarized. Using the online plagiarism checker report you can make some quick adjustments so that the sentences are broken up or rewritten sufficiently that your next run through Unplag returns no plagiarism at all. You can send this report with your essay direct to your tutor. 5. Reading skills with Goodreads and LibraryThing How about catching up on some reading? There are some great websites available such as goodreads and librarything that provide information on the latest books and can make recommendations if you input your preferences. They also provide forums for avid readers to share their views on books. It lets you know what people of your own age group like to read. 6. Online video tutorials You can also spend some mind time watching and learning using online video tutorials and lectures such as http://bigthink.com/, https://www.youtube.com/education and https://www.reddit.com/r/lectures/. All in all, summertime is a time you can pick and choose what you do. It’s all up to you, but there are plenty of ways you can keep your mind in shape and give you a head start when you return to formal study after the holiday is over. Author Bio: Lynn Usrey, a newbie essayist and freelance writer. After graduation from University of Florida at 2013 she has been working as a freelance editor and proofreader. Also she runs a writing course in Orlando, Florida. Visit her LinkedIn page. In addition to this list, stay sharp over break with the help of a private San Diego summer tutor. Call us today for more information. All blog entries, with the exception of guest bloggers, are written by Tutor Nerds. Are you an education professional? If so, email us at pr@tutornerds.com for guest blogging and collaborations. We want to make this the best free education resource in SoCal, so feel free to suggest what you would like to see us write.

British Columbia Canadian International School

British Columbia Canadian International School British Columbia Canadian International School • BCCIS offers a Preschool Program for 3 and 4 year old children in a facility next to the main school. BCCIS offers a Kindergarten program outside the BC Program. As part of the Understanding with the Egyptian Ministry of Education, Arabic and Religion are taught from Kindergarten through grade 12. Egyptian Social Studies is taught in grades 4-11. These programs are taught by Egyptian certified teachers but in no way detract from the B.C. program. • The school's primary focus is to provide an excellent academic program based on the philosophy, foundations and IRPs of the British Columbia Ministry of Education to Egyptian National and Expatriate children. • The school tries to emulate a typical B.C. school with its policies, objectives, teaching and operation. • The majority of the student population is Egyptian Nationals. • The school offers Arabic, Religion and Egyptian Social Studies in compliance with the Egyptian Ministry of Education's Regulations. • The school has set a benchmark for a quality education in Egypt. The integrity of the annual inspection, five provincial exams; well qualified teachers and IRP's are all unique to the Middle East. • Parents and students have online access to student data as a method of keeping parents updated on student success. • The preschool and kindergarten program, and the BC elementary program enable the majority of the students to enter the BC secondary program well versed in English and with limited need for ESL.